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W. J. BALKWILL AND W. F. SCHWEIGER.

STAMP FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1. 1916.

1,312,669.- PatentedAug.12,1919.

. J 922 w 246 l 4 32 5 xi- I/Vl/ RS @526 (M 7 GZ/v/L CZL/Z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESLEY J'. BA LKWILL AND WILLIAM E. SCHWEIGER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NORS TO MULTIPOST COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A. COBPORA- TION OF NEW YORK.

STAMP-FEEDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919,

Application filed November 1, 1916. Serial No. 128,885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WESLEY J. BALK- WILL and WILLIAM F. Sonwnrenn, both of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and .State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp- Feeding Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference be ing' had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference characters marked thereon.

Our present invention relates to machines for supplyingstarnps, or labels, and has for its object to provlde a base, or standard,

carrying stamp feeding mechanism and supstamp container is removed. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:'

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line aa of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 1 is an enlarged detail elevational view showing a portion of the mechanism for feeding stamps from the machine.

Similar reference characters throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Our invention relates to a machine for feeding. stamps of different denominations,

readily used, if desired, in comiection with the stamping of letters, post cards and all other articles regardless of their size or shape.

In illustrating our present invention, we have shown in the drawings a base or standard carrying a plurality of stamp or label contalners 10, 11 and 12, normally looked upon a frame or base 13, the stamp strips therein being rendered inoperative by an exteriorly mounted guard 14, the removal or release of which cannot be effected without first unlocking at least one of the contain ers, in the present instance, the one at the center of the machine. The frame or base 13 preferably comprises a single metal plate having an elevated horizontal portion 15 upon which said units are mounted and upon the opposite sides of which are the sup porting flanges or feet 16 and 17, the former being turned up at 18 to form with the vertical portion 19 of the frame a channel or trough in which is positioned a receptacle 20 carrying a moistening pad 21 into contact with which the stamps or labels as they are fed from the machine may be passed by the operator. The several stamp feeding units are substantially identical in construction and a description of one will suffice.

The stamp containers'or units are inde pendently mountedupon thebase or stand ard, and each comprises the stamp receptacle andstamp guideway; a'counter cooperating therewith, and a lock for securing the container on the base. On the latter is provided the upright front wall 22 carrying the feeding devices, and integral side walls 23 and 24 adapted to embrace the side walls of the container. The front wall 22 is provided at its top with a flange, the end of which projects downwardly as indicated at 25, beneath which lugs 26 on the container 27 may interlock. Each of the side walls 23 is provided with an enlarged circular portion 28 adapted to close the open sides of the containers through which the stamp rolls are inserted. The bottom of the container is provided with a suitable lock 29 carrying a latch 30 extend ing into engagement with the horizontal por tion 15 of the frame, as shown in Fig. 3. The latch 30, together with the lugs 26, serve to hold the container in the desired position on the base of the machine. The stamp strips 31 are fed along a stationary at its lower end, as shown in Fig. 3.

. cutter.

-When the desired number of stamps have been fed from the container the operator severs them from the strip by means of said The ejecting of the stamps is effected by the feeding mechanism mounted upon the stationary upright wall 22, and

comprises a reciprocating carriage 39 having guides 40 projecting through vertical openings or guideways 41 in the upright wall22. An actuating member 42 for moving, the carriage is secured upon the outer ends of the guides by means of suitable pins 43, and isprovided with a horizontally disposed finger piece 44 by means of which the carriage may be moved downwardly against the action of a pair of springs 45, the lower ends of which diverge and are connected with the hook-like projections 46 at the top of the carriage. The upper ends of the springs are secured upon a downwardly extending projection 47 preferably in the form of an eye bolt secured upon the flanged portion of the wall 22. The carriage is provided with rearwardly extending projections or cars 48, and between them and on the rear face of the carriage is mounted a finger holder 49 carrying at its opposite sides the rearwardly extending spaced projections 50 to which they are secured by a pin 51. A pivot pin 52 has its opposite ends secured upon the projections 50 of the finger holder and upon said pin a series of stamp feeding fingers 53 are pivotally mounted in position to engage the perforations between adjacent stamps in the strip when placed in the guideway formed by the parts 32 and 34. The fingers 53 are each yieldingly controlled by a coil spring 54, one end of which extends into the finger and the other of which is wound upon a pin 55.

The guard or cover plate 14 isofsufiicient length to extend beneath all of the actuating members 42 to prevent their operation and at its lower edge rests on the base 15 and'is preferably locked in placeby means of a latch 56 projecting through an aperture 58 in the wall 22 and provided with a beveled shoulder 57 adapted to engage one of the edges of the aperture. The latch 'is pivoted at 59 between extensions 60 carried by a plate 61 securely mounted upon the inner face of the front wall of the guard. The

latch is limited in its downward movement by a shoulder 62 normally engaging the plate 61, but is free to move upwardly upon its pivot. Anupstanding projection 63 upon the latch forms a seat for one end of a coil spring 64, the other end of which is secured upon the plate 61. The guard 14 is provided with one or more tongues or projections 65 adapted to extend through a slot or slots 66 in the wall 22 to prevent lateral shifting of the guard, and the arrangement of these parts, as shown, renders therelease of the guard impossible until the stamp container is removed to render the latch 56 accessible.

When the lock 29 is operated to withdraw a latch 30, the associated stamp container or unit may be removed as a whole. The guide member 33 and the rear guide wall 32 form a part of said unit. The front guide member 33 is made in the form of a U-shaped plate open through the center and the feeding fingers 53 co6perate through this open part with the strip of stamps lying against the guide wall 32. When itbecomes necessary to replenish the supply of stamps, the container unit is removed and the guidemember 33 which carries the-upper feed roller is detached therefrom. A new roll of stamps is then placed in the container and the end drawn down. over the rear guide wall 32. The guide-member is then replaced and holds the strip of stamps in position to be engaged and fed by the feeding fingers when the unit is returned to its operative position in the apparatus.

We claim as our invention:

1. A stamp feeding machine comprising a frame, feeding devices thereon, a stamp container in locked engagement therewith, a removable guardnormally rendering the feeding devices in operative, and'means for locking the guard to the frame, which are accessible only upon the unlocking of the container. 2. A stamp feeding machine comprising a frame having an aperture, a stamp container in locked engagement with the frame having a stamp guideway registering with the aperture to direct a stamp strip therethrough, means for feeding stamps from the container, a-guard adapted to normally prevent the operation of said feeding means and cover the point of discharge of the stamp strip, and locking devices for the guard which are accessible only upon the unlocking of the container.

3. In a stamp feeding machine, the combination of a frame, a plurality of supports each adapted to contain a plurality of stamps, separate means for feeding stamps from each support, and a removable guard for preventing the actuation ofthe several feeding means.

4. A stamp feeding machine comprising a frame, a plurality of stamp, containers carried by the frame and normally locked thereon, a feeding mechanism cooperating with each of the containers for feeding stamps therefrom, independent actuating members for said feeding mechanism, a guard for preventing the operation of all of the actuating members, means for locking it to the frame, the release of said locking means being dependent upon the unlocking of one of the containers.

5. A stamp feeding machine comprising a frame, stamp feeding devices'thereon'and stamp containers cooperating with said feeding devices adapted to be detachably locked to the frame, a guard plate removably fitted to the frame beneath the stamp feeding devices to prevent their operation and a latch member on the inner side of the plate cooperating with the frame and when in locked position accessible only upon removal of a stamp container.

6. A stamp feeding machine comprising a base plate and an upright Wall thereon having an opening at its lower end, a stamp feeding device movably supported on the wall, and a stamp container cooperating with the feeding device and adapted to be held in locked engagement with the base plate and Wall and having a stamp guide- Way cooperating With said opening, a guard plate covering the latter and cooperating With the feeding device to render it in operative, and means on the inner side of the guard for detachably securing it in inoperative position.

WESLEY J. BALKWILL, WILLIAM F. SGHWEIGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

